Fast Food Fast Women
Directed by Amos Kollek.
This film is advertised as a comedy following in the footsteps of Woody Allen but I must say I didn’t find it particularly funny. The story revolves around Bella (Anna Thomson), soon to turn 35, who works in an all-American diner. She has an ongoing affair with an older man but is talked into a blind date with the eligible Bruno (Jamie Harris). Of course it all goes wrong but they still get each other in the end. It is almost as if the director has been tempted to make a fairy tale out of a film.
Bella is a likable character but what ultimately makes this film more than fluff is the people who surround her. Three older men often meet and eat in the diner but when one of them answers a personal ad the equilibrium shifts. To me, it was both sweet and refreshing to see older people fret over possible sexual inadequacies. How often are elderly couples even portrayed on screen these days?
Performances are generally good and the scenes with Bruno and his daughter are both touching and slightly amusing. I think the main problem with Fast Food Fast Women is that it is pulling in so many directions, wanting to tell so many stories, and therefore it doesn’t quite manage to keep focused. There are a few wonderful scenes, especially one (which could be dubious from a racial point of view) where the black son of one of Bella’s white friends gets her grooving and dancing in her own living room. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough of those to make Fast Food Fast Women more than an average film experience.
Sol
